Reading God's Word

Commentaries

Bible commentaries are a way for us to read how other Christians before us have understood the Bible, allowing us to be in community even when reading Scripture on our own.

• Short: NIV Compact Bible Commentary
• Longer: The Life Application Bible Commentaries (Can be purchased for individual books or the full set)
• Much longer, but excellent: The NIV Application Commentary (Can be purchased for individual books or the full set)
• Videos:  The people at The Bible Project have created incredible free videos to introduce each book of the Bible, and study books in greater depth. In addition, they offer an outstanding series about how to read the Bible.

Bible Reading Plans

If you are looking for a place to start reading the Bible, we recommend that you begin with the book of Mark (the beginning of the New Testament) and continue from there. Some of the stories will repeat, others will refer to things you don’t know about yet, but keep going! The commentaries will help. But more than that, ask God to read with you and listen for the Holy Spirit to speak. Ultimately, the goal is not just to get to know the Bible, but to get to know the Lord.

• There are many reading plangs that break up the New Testament or the entire Bible into daily readings, like the One Year Bible (NLT).
• The Youversion Bible app also offers dozens of great reading plans on every subject or section of the Bible for free. Look for it on the Apple or Google app stores, or head to Bible.com on your computer.
• Our pastors often read devotionally using the New Living Translation of the Bible (NLT), but a few years ago Zondervan created a Bible paraphrase (The Story) that essentially presents the Bible as a coherent single story.  It is a great way to discover the Bible! In addition, there are multiple versions for different levels of readers (adults, teens, children, etc.).

Devotionals

Devotionals guide us into the Bible more deeply and personally and are a good way to spend a few minutes with God and God’s word daily.

Watch

Highrock’s Daily Devotional features Pastors John and Dave and other Highrock staff as they discuss a sermon or short passage of the Bible. The daily devos are available every weekday at 5:00am on YouTube. Join us at the start of your day or during your coffee break!

Listen

Also available as an app you can download for your phone or tablet, pray-as-you-go.org offers daily Bible readings (read aloud) along with reflection questions and time for prayer.

Read

There are many good written devotionals. Two that we especially recommend are:

• My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. Available as a book or for free online.
• Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day by Peter Scazzero.